21 Social Media Marketing Trends for 2012

Curious to find out what 2012 could have in store for online marketers? This presentation from DreamGrow shares 21 predictions on what 2012 could look like.

Highlights include:

Social CRM making inroads

Social media influencing more sales

Social commerce on mobile devices

Facebook IPO and Most Popular Social Sites:

“Nielsen: Top Web Destinations, Social Networks and Video Sites in 2011” As 2011 comes to an end, Nielsen released a review of the top online destinations, social media sites, and smartphone devices. It is no surprise that Google was the most visited U.S. Web Brand and Facebook was still the leader among social networks and blogs. Via Nielsen.

“Facebook $100 Billion IPO in 2012: What the Future Holds for the Social Media Powerhouse” 2012 is positioned to be one of the most important years in Facebook’s short history. While going public and planning a $100 billion IPO for 2012 are on the horizon, additional surprises are in store for Facebook users in the coming year. Via Mashable.

Social Media: Disasters

“Ocean Marketing vs. Penny Arcade: Paul Christoforo PR Disaster Goes Viral” Documented via email and enacted on numerous YouTube videos, this might be one of the most reprehensible exchanges in the history of customer service. A PR/Marketing contractor representing N-Control, a maker of modified game controllers for hardcore gamers and disabled people has been accused of insulting a customer, plagiarism, extorting a past client and shady SEO practices. Could it get any worse? Yeah. Domestic abuse. Via International Business Times.

“Social media, rumors might have fed melee at MOA” On Sunday December 25th it was rumored that rappers Lil Wayne and Drake were going to be making an appearance at Mall of America in Bloomington, MN. In the afternoon mayhem broke out involving more than 200 young people, one of the most serious disturbances at the mall in over 15 years with 10 people arrested. Via StarTribune.

“Top 5 Most Common Networking Mistakes” Good networking is an art and a science. While some people may not have an innate networking skill this article points out basic mistakes and how to avoid them. Via Inc.

Network Growth: Exceeding Expectations

“Pinterest: Crazy Growth Lands it as Top 10 Social Site” Pintrest has grown 4,000% over the past 6 months marking it as the number 10 social media site. While most traffic comes from California and Texas, Pinterest also receives unusually high traffic from states like Utah, Alabama, and Tennessee. Via cNet.

“Instagram Becomes the Largest Mobile Social Network” In the past two months Instagram has added over 2 million new users. While currently only available on iPhone, Instagram is poised to outpace Foursquare, the largest mobile focused social network available today. Via Social Fresh.

“Google+ may reach 400 million users by end of 2012” Google+ is on average adding 625,000 new users per day. While the numbers are reflecting total users not active users, there is no denying that Google+ is growing. Via LA Times Blog.

Cashing in on Christmas:

“Final Christmas Push Propels U.S. Online Holiday Spending to $35.3 Billion, Up 15 Percent Versus Last Year” Spending reflected in this report takes into account the first 56 days of the November – December holiday season. It is said with certainty that Cyber Monday 2011 ranked as the heaviest spending day of the season for the second year in a row. Via ComScore.

Battles In the Court & On the Screen

“A Dispute Over Who Owns a Twitter Account Goes to Court” How much is a Twitter follower worth? In a world where social media influence can mean the difference between a new customer and a fruitless cold call, one company thinks it’s worth a lot. The question remains, can a company claim ownership of an employee’s social media account, and what does that mean for employee’s posting during work hours? Via NY Times.

“YouTube Slam Begins Video Clip Battles for Users’ Votes” Each week YouTube will put user submitted videos head-to-head to battle it out on screen. Users will be asked to submit a vote for their favorite video. This contest is designed to keep visitors on YouTube for longer periods of time and deepen their connection to the site. Via BBC.

Online Marketing News You Can Use = TopRank Team Edition

Ken Horst – “Google Will Change Web Marketing in 2012”
Google has designed a new method for websites to structure data so that its crawler can pull better information. These plans revolve around metadata that will allow Google to access more rich data about a topic. This may be a wakeup call for marketers and web masters to start looking at the new data and plan for the deployment of the new code in order to improve or maintain rankings. Via Harvard Business Review.

Emily Conley – “The 22 Best Infographics We Found in 2011”
This is a compilation of some of the best infographics released in the past year. I thought this was a pretty cool trend feature to reflect on the past year and gear up for 2012! Via Co.Design.

Alexis Hall – “77 of Top 100 Brands Now Have Google+ Pages”
This article from Marketing Land discusses the fast adoption of Google+ by businesses, since its launch on November 7th. According to BrightEdge’s December SocialShare report, 77 of the top 100 brands now have Google+ pages. This adoption rate will likely continue to increase in 2012 as big and small businesses begin to leverage Google+. Via Marketing Land.

Ken Horst – “Will Clever Sense Help Google Become The Perfect Search Engine?”
Google is beefing up its voice search capabilities with the recent purchase of Clever Sense. Similar to Siri for Apple, Google’s new voice search app will remember things it learns about the user so that future search results are even more targeted. As more people use voice search on their mobile devices, online marketers will need to learn what it takes, other than location, to acquire a high ranking in the SERP. Via Search Insider.

Happy Birthday TopRank Online Marketing Blog!

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Ashley Zeckman is the Director of Agency Marketing for TopRank Marketing. In addition to finding innovative ways to showcase the exceptional work of her team, she is also responsible for creating digital marketing programs that drive customer acquisition and growth for the agency. Her background includes expertise in everything from content marketing strategy to branding, account management and social media.

Outside of her role at TopRank Online Marketing, Ashley prides herself on being a great home chef, painter, prankster and dog mom.